Abstract

Current British government policy leans heavily toward a participatory approach to urban
development. The alleged benefits range from the growth of trust and social capital to better policy
delivery and implementation involving a greater range of actors in the policy process. Yet, in many
cases, poorly carried out partnership and participatory efforts can produce outcomes directly opposite
to the benefits listed above. The author examines participation as a structural phenomenon and in
doing so offers insights into how relationships could be strengthened in order to avoid these negative
outcomes. Social network analysis is used to examine the structural relationships found within an
urban redevelopment project in Portsmouth, England. Through the application of these measures, a
number of relational patterns emerged which were not conducive to participation and left community
groups feeling overwhelmed and underrepresented. The author concludes by noting how this technique
could be used not only to highlight network imbalances, as seen in the case study, but also to offer
community groups proactive advice in developing their network ties and communication structures,
thus improving their overall position within the network and helping to deliver better levels of trust
and social capital to the process.